Morgan Harrington Celebrates a block against Concordia-Wisconsin Sept. 9, 2023

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Women’s Volleyball Heads East for Three Matches in Maine

Titans will face Bowdoin before competing in the Colby College Tournament

10/19/2023 12:00:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's volleyball team will head east for three matches in Maine Friday-Saturday, Oct. 20-21. IWU (8-12) will face Bowdoin College Friday, Oct. 20, at 4:30 p.m. ET in Brunswick, Maine, before traveling to Waterville, Maine for the Colby College Tournament Saturday, Oct. 21. The Titans will battle Colby at 11 a.m. ET before concluding the trip against Endicott College at 1 p.m. ET.

Illinois Wesleyan took down Elmhurst University in five sets Tuesday night, Oct. 17. Sophomore Taylor French (Romeoville, Ill.-Plainfield East) put up a monstrous night, finishing with a career-high 27 kills on a .368 attack percentage, 17 digs, four aces, four blocks, and a program-record 33.5 points. Senior Jordan Pierce (Bonfield, Ill.-Herscher) led the team with 26 assists, and added 12 digs to round out a double-double performance. Sophomore Raegan Watts finished with a match-high 21 digs, just one shy of her career-high. Freshman Eleanor Palmer (Chicago, Ill.-DePaul College Prep) led the net defense with a match-high six blocks.

One of the nation's top offensive threats, French currently ranks fifth nationally in kills (358) and points (405.8), eighth in kills per set (4.42), and ninth in points per set (5.02). Senior Lily Summers (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield North) and junior Morgan Harrington (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield East) rank second and third on the team in kills with 113 and 109, respectively.

Freshman Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) leads the team in assists with 293, while Pierce's 220 are the second-most. Junior Abby Erdman (Aurora, Ill.-Metea Valley) rounds out the top-three with 182. French leads the team in aces with 36, while senior Faith Washko (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) sits in second with 26. Sophomore Raegan Watts' (Forsyth, Ill.-Maroa Forsyth) 16 are third-most for the Green and White.

Defensively, Washko leads the Titans with 322 digs, while French closely follows with 270, and Feeney's 162 are good for third. Palmer leads the net defense with 54 total blocks on the season, 12 of which have been solo rejections. Senior Taylor Babec (Joliet, Ill.-Plainfield Central) has a second-best 42 blocks on a mix of 10 solo and 32 assisted. Harrington rounds out the top-three with 28 stuffs.

IWU will face Bowdoin (8-7) for the second time in program history. Now-assistant coach Tyler Brown posted a match-high 27 kills on a whopping .446 attack percentage in the four-set victory for the Titans Oct. 22, 2016. The Polar Bears most recently fell in four sets to Wesleyan University Saturday, Oct. 14.

The Titans will meet Colby for the first time on the court. The Mules swept Maine Maritime Academy Tuesday, Oct. 17 to improve to 14-5 on the year. The Green and White will close the trip facing Endicott (9-10), meeting for the second time ever. The two faced off Oct. 11, 2008 in St. Louis, Mo. with the Titans pulling off a sweep. The Gulls fell to Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-1, Wednesday night, Oct. 18.

Bowdoin will be live streaming the match, which can be found here, and live stats can be found by clicking here. Colby will have a live stream, which can be accessed here, and live stats can be found here.

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